Has anyone lost their MINI to an engine fire?

 

What kind of question is that?

 

toooohot,
welcome to the board......
but I agree with HighAnziety on this one..... What promted that question?
To my knowledge..... there haven't been any engine fires..... at least none that were discussed here.
SW

 

No Fire Here!

I did have my coolant expansion tank spring a leak. Warranty replaced it and I am A-Okay.

Chillin'
Kesh420

 

We had our MINI S for approx a month. My husband and I rode to work together one day, he pick me up from work (approx 8 miles to my office) and we drove to the mall (approx 4 miles) parked the car. Smoke started coming from under the hood. We got out of the car, decided not to lift the hood, so looked under the car and saw drops of flaming goop dropping to the ground. We called the fire department, borrowed a fire extinguisher, put out the fire. They totaled the MINI.

 

Sorry to hear about that! That is the first I've heard of this!
So what was the outcome? Was there any explaination of what occured? Are you driving a new MINI?
SW

 

The investigator decided that something built a nest around the motor and the heat from the motor ignited the twigs, pinestraw and leaves. We have two other vehicles that have not had any trouble. Insurance settled.

No we did not purchase another MINI. Loved the MINI, but the dealership left a sour taste in our mouth. They would not return phone calls, etc.

 

Well the mini will attract the birds.
:smile:

 

I'm not so sure that I'm buying the story about something living in your car after only 1 month of having it! That is just too bizarre!

 

Please excuse me if this question is none of my business...but I am really curious to know how your insurance company handled this situation.

Did they give you market value for the mini, or sticker value?? How did they arrive at a pay off value?? Did you have to pay a deductible, even though the car was destroyed through no fault of your own??

You know, one thought is that I have noticed my S takes nearly 6 hours to cool completely (where the temp gauge shows no temp). I can see a nice warm engine being quite inviting to critters.

I like Lizzy don't by the birds bit though. Maybe mice, rats but no way a birds going to make a home in your engine.

 

:evil:

Cheers!
Clover

 

Well, on the other hand, so long as your insurance co gave you a fair settlement, it doesn't matter if they came up with a bogus cause. Your car burned, you got your money. Case closed I assume.

Now, a question for potential MINI owners...do you think that this car will reappear as a rebuild? Where are you (Toooohot) physically located? What are some of the pertinent details of your car (color, interior, etc.)? It would be interesting to see if it winds up on eBay or at a local used car dealer.

 

Yes our insurance company settled. They depreciated it and we paid the deductible. We live south of Tallahassee on the coast. Let me know if you see a rebuild. The MINI S was returned to Jacksonville. It was electric blue/white top, black leather interior, run flats, approx 1800 miles. Post the VIN number or a portion of and I'll confirm!

Happy motoring!

 

great, another issue that we have to worry about, at least this time it was not of natural causes, ie, being English, like my TR6, anyway, keep those nest or whatever it was out from under the bonnet!

 

>>Has anyone lost their MINI to an engine fire?

This whole thing just seems very odd to me. A bird set up shot in the engine compartment in less than a month?? Did you leave it attended for that entire month?

What's the point of asking "has anyone lost their MINI to an engine fire"? Sounds like your asking if the engine is defective. By your own account... your fire had absolutely ZERO to do with MINI reliability or anything.

Why didn't you just come out and explain it. This posting sounds boarderline fake/flaming the board. Don't get me wrong... it's not that i don't believe what happened to you... but how on earth does this have anything to do with anything?

It would be like me posting "Had anyone had their MINI roof cave in"

... then going on to say its because a gigantic tree fell on my car.

Very odd.

 

>>Has anyone lost their MINI to an engine fire?


Yes, I'm on my fourth mini; lost two to engine fire, and one went up in flames with the Hindenberg-- I still have nighmares; if it hadn't been for the great work on the part of Mini Zepelin-side assistance, I would have had to cancel my whole weekend!

Dr. Chatt Aire (which, I think, is the content of your post)

 

>>>>Has anyone lost their MINI to an engine fire?
>>
>>
>>Yes, I'm on my fourth mini; lost two to engine fire, and one went up in flames with the Hindenberg-- I still have nighmares; if it hadn't been for the great work on the part of Mini Zepelin-side assistance, I would have had to cancel my whole weekend!
>>
>>Dr. Chatt Aire (which, I think, is the content of your post)
>>
>>

Ohh.. sounds rough... I almost lost one due to the evil villan Herr Engine Fire myself, but luckly, Zan of the WonderTwins was hanging out and he changed into a bucket of water for me... needless to say, we opened up a bucket of whoop-a$$...

Rocketboy_X

 

We also have a problem believing that anything built a nest around the engine compartment as well!!!!!!!

The MINI did not sit for a month. It is driven approx 80 miles round trip 5 days a week to work. WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WERE OTHERS THAT HAD A PROBLEM WITH A FIRE. HEARD THERE WAS A PROBLEM FROM A FEW PEOPLE AND THOUGHT WHAT BETTER WAY TO GET INFO THAN A FRIENDLY FORUM THAT REACHES A LARGE GROUP OF PARTICIPANTS..............

No this is not a joke. We were looking for serious information. Would appreciate assistance if you hear of anything.

Thanks

 

There have been one or tweo reports on another message board of fires under the bonnet. Apparently, in those cases the insulation on the underside of the hood became too hot and began to smolder. As far as i remember, the fire never spread and no actual damage was done to the car, other than the insulation itself, though I suppose if they hadn't been caught in time the smoldering could have spread and led to an all-out fire. Could be what happened to Toooohot.

PigLick

 

I had a fire under the bonnet of one of my classic Minis. Never did find out what caused it. Didn't total the car, or even stop me from driving it (once the fumes from the burning/melted insulation cleared).
That car had been put together from parts of other Minis by someone though. Looked great and went well, but it had a few minor "issues".
Having the accelerator cable snap while 1/2 way around a semi-trailer was not fun.

Agro.

 

I've had no engine problems and apparently nooone else has had that sort of issue either....

But I HIGHLY doubt anything burrowed into your engine and made a nest, so whoever diagnosed it as that most likely has no clue what they are talking about. If said Mini was your daily driver, especially for that many miles per day, there would be no time for anything to build anything in there. I am sorry to hear that this happened to you...it sounds like a freak accident. I would not be surprised if it was started by a mechanical problem of some kind.

Is there any further investigation you could do? If it is proven that it was an engine failure, you should be able to get the car replaced. I just think that the chances of some creature burrowing in there while you are driving so often are very slim. Unless you sat your Mini in front of your house and never drove it, I cannot forsee that happening.

 

:evil:

 

My neighbor's cat WAS rubbing up against the tires on my MINI yesterday!

Should I be worried?

 

If your post was "real" then why post? You didn't get another Mini, you got your insurance money. "Problem" solved...thanks for stopping by. What other feedback or "information" were you looking for? How about... buh bye!

 

Trollism, perhaps??